The effects of economic inequality and modernization on religious disaffiliation. A test for the Netherlands in 1975-1995
In a recent study, using data from 60 nations, Ruiter and Van Tubergen (2009) found individuals from countries with highest economic inequalities to run the lowest risk of religious disaffiliation. Interestingly, modernization was found to have no effect on religious disaffiliation. A more stringent test is to investigate how economic inequality and modernization are related to religious disaffiliation within countries over time. In this study we use data from the Netherlands gathered between 1975-1995, a period in which religious disaffiliation was prominent. Our main findings run counter to those of Ruiter and Van Tubergen. In the Netherlands, higher levels of economic inequality and higher levels of modernization seem to increase religious disaffiliation.